IRONMAN officials are working with local police in Hamburg to investigate what looks to have been an act of sabotage on the bike course at last Sunday’s race.
More than 100 age-group athletes were forced to DNF after suffering punctures midway through the 180km section, which was held on roads in and around Germany’s second-largest city on Sunday.
An inspection of the area in question revealed shards of metal and glass strewn across the surface, leading to fears that someone had deliberately thrown them into the path of oncoming riders.
Possible protest about road closures
Thankfully, none of the professional riders seems to have been affected by the incident, which some believe may have been a protest from Hamburg residents unhappy about the lengthy road closures required to host the race.
A spokesperson from IRONMAN confirmed on Tuesday that the investigation with police was centred around the actions of ‘unknown third parties’ and that they were looking at solutions to ensure such incidents did not happen at any future race.
“IRONMAN is deeply disappointed that unknown third parties acted with the intent to cause deliberate disruption to a section of the eastern part of the bike course by distributing metal shards on the course, aimed at causing punctures to athletes’ bike tyres and disrupting their race,” it reads.
“Prior to race start, the course was thoroughly checked and cleared by IRONMAN officials, as per standard safety protocols. The disruption was discovered by officials during the race around 09:30, indicating the deliberate actions to affect the safety of athletes likely took place after the race had already started.
‘Supporting the police in their formal investigation’
“IRONMAN and the local authorities (police and fire brigade) worked together to clear this section of the course as quickly as possible and continually monitored the situation.
“To support athletes who were affected by these actions, additional resources were deployed in these areas, including bike mechanics. Post-race, athletes who could not complete the bike course as a result have been contacted.
“IRONMAN is supporting the police in their formal investigation into the matter and will work with the city to help address the issue for future editions.”
With another huge German full-distance race taking place next month, in the shape of Challenge Roth, its race director Felix Walchshöfer has already sought to allay any fears that the roads used for his bike course would be anything other than pristine.
‘Dreams have been shattered’
In a statement on Instagram yesterday, he said: “We were horrified to see the images from Hamburg yesterday. First and foremost, we are very sorry that so many athletes were affected and their dreams have been shattered.
“We already got the first emails and calls from athletes who are very concerned regarding the race here in four weeks.”
He goes on to confirm that he has already spoken with waste management officials at Veolia to come up with a plan which will ensure that no such issues occur in Roth.
Sunday’s professional race was won by Norway’s Solveig Løvseth, who managed to cling on to her lead despite being chased down by the excellent running of German Laura Philipp, who was close to ten minutes off the pace when she left T2 and started the marathon.
